按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
One book that was read and re…read was Nat the Naturalisf； by George Manville Fenn。 The scene was set somewhere in the jungle in South East Asia。 Bill could quote whole pages by heart and it often acpanied him to the top of
1。The following is an excerpt from a letter by J。 T。 C。 Golding （William Golding's brother） addressed to James R。 Baker on December 4； 1962。 The letter appears here by permission of J。 T。 C。 Golding and James R。 Baker。
2。 William Golding's father was Senior Master of Marlborough Grammar School。…Eds。
the chestnut tree in the garden。3 And all the time there was a father only too willing to give a logical answer to a small boy's questions。
Eventually he entered Marlborough Grammar School and emerged from a pretty sheltered life into a world of violence and small boys…and not…so…small boys。 Here he met physical violence and the deliberate infliction of pain by boys。 Also he noticed the tendency of small boys to gang up against the weak or those with a mannerism that put them out of step。4 Not that it was a bad school for bullying… official policy was hot against it and in any case Bill was physically well…equipped enough to look after himself。 Many others will have noticed all this but the effect； in this case； on an impressionable ten…year…old may have had important results。 The conjunction of the boy in the jungle in Nat the Naturalist and the school playground may have lain dormant for years until some later experience pushed it to the surface as Lord of the Flies。 On the other hand the explanation is so obvious and easy that it probably isn't true。
During these last years at school another writer； I think of considerable importance to him； entered his life。 This was Mark Twain。 Not Mark Twain of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn but of Roughing It and Innocents Abroad。 He swallowed these almost as pletely as he had done Nat the Naturalist。 The humour of these books and their irreverence towards many accepted things encour…
3。 The symbolic significance of this tree is made clear in Golding's autobiographical essay； 〃The Ladder and the Tree；〃 The Listener； 63 （March 24； 1960）； 531…33）。 The essay is vital to an understanding of the basic dialectic which is dramatized in all the novels： the conflict between the rational and the irrational elements in man's nature and the effects of this conflict on both the individual and historical levels。…Eds。
4。 The 〃tendency〃 is obvious enough in Lord of the Flies： note Simon's position in Jack's chorus； Roger's attack on the 〃litthins；〃 and the general abuse of Piggy。 After fear drives most of the boys into the hunter tribe； they lose all capacity for dialectic and begin sadistic persecution of those who stand outside their powerful group。 In Free Fall a similar pattern of behavior appears in the episodes which describe the rough…and…tumble boyhood adventures of Sammy Mountjoy。…Eds。
aged his own scepticism。 It was an attitude he was already adopting toward the society of 4000 people around him。 In addition he had a father who weled criticism of any institution under the sun； though any deviation in personal conduct produced a muted rumble of thunder。
The Fables of William Golding1
JOHN PETER
A useful critical distinction may be drawn between a fiction and a fable。 Like most worthwhile distinctions it is often easy to detect； less easy to define。 The difficulty arises because the clearest definition would be in terms of an author's intentions； his pre…verbal procedures； and these are largely inscrutable and wholly imprecise。 For a definition that is objective and specific we are reduced to an 〃as if；〃 which is at best clumsy and at worst perhaps delusive。
The distinction itself seems real enough。 Fables are those narratives which leave the impression that their purpose was anterior； some initial thesis or contention which they are apparently concerned to embody and express in concrete terms。 Fables always give the impression that they were preceded by the conclusion which it is their function to draw； though of course it is doubtful whether any author foresees his conclusions as fully as this； and unlikely that his work would be improved if he did。 The effect of a fiction is very different。 Here the author's aim； as it appears from what he has written； is evidently to present a more or less faithful reflection of the plexities； and often of the irrelevancies； of life as it is actually experienced。 Such conclusions as he may draw…he is under much less pulsion to draw them than a writer of fables…do not appear to be anterior but on the contrary take their origin from the fiction itself； in which they are latent； and occasionally unrecognized。 It is a matter of approach； so far as that can be
1。 This article first appeared in the Kenyon Review； 19 （Autumn； 1957）； 577…592。 It is reprinted in part here through the courtesy of the Kenyon Review and the author。
gauged。 Fictions make only a limited attempt to generalize and explain the experience with which they deal； since their concern is normally with the uniqueness of this experience。 Fables； starting from a skeletal abstract； must flesh out that abstract with the appearances of 〃real life〃 in order to render it interesting and cogent。 1984 is thus an obvious example of a fable； while The Rainbow is a fiction。 Orwell and Lawrence； in these books； are really moving in opposite directions。 If their movements could be geometrically projected to exaggerate and expose each other； Lawrence's would culminate in chaotic reportage； Orwell's in stark allegory。
。 。 。 ＇The distinction＇ has a particular value for the critic whose concern is with novels； in that it assists him in locating and defining certain merits which are especially characteristic of novels and certain faults to which they are especially prone。 Both types； the fiction and the fable； have their own particular dangers。 The danger that threatens a fiction is simply that it will bee confused； so richly faithful to the plexity of human existence as to lose all its shape and organization。 。 。 。 The danger that threatens a fable is utterly different； in fact the precise opposite。 When a fable is poor…geometrically projected again…it is bare and diagrammatic； insufficiently clothed in its garment of actuality； and in turn its appeal is extra…aesthetic and narrow。 Satires like Animal Farm are of this kind。
It will be said that any such distinction must be a neutral one； and that the best novels are fictions which have managed to retain their due share of the fable's coherence and order。 No doubt this is true。 But it also seems to be true that novels can go a good deal farther'； without serious damage； in the direction of fiction than they can in the direction of fable； and this suggests that fiction is a much more congenial mode for the novelist than fable can ever be。 The trouble with the mode of fable is that it is constricting。 As soon as a novelist has a particular end in view the materials from which he may choose begin to shrink； and to dispose themselves toward that end。 。 。 。 The fact is that a novelist depends ultimately not only on the richness of his materials but on the richne